Post by BurkladiesGil, there is no aversion from Christ's doctrines represented by the
Canonical NT. More church fathers, Simon Peter, St. John, St. Mark,
St. Luke and St. Thomas are consistant with 2nd and 3rd century
writings with the Nag Hammadi.
Some of the Gnostic movements of the 2nd C involved a kind of
initiation (ex.: the Naassenes) whereas it is easy to categorize the
Colossian heresy as a 1st C form of "incipient Gnosticism."
However, it is not quite so easy to relate it to any of the particular
forms of developed Gnosticism known today from Irenaeus and Hippolytus
or more pertinent to the thread, from the Nag Hammadi texts. The
Christological use of the noun plErwma in Colossians was designed to
refute Gnostic ideas associated with that term in the heresy, but even
if that were so, this does not give much help in ascertaining what
those Gnostic ideas were.
Nothing would be extraordinary in a system of incipient Gnosticism
expanding in such a way as to make room for Christian elements within
itself. An analogy to such an expansion has been detected in the
relationship of 2 of the Nag Hammadi texts-Eugnostos the Blessed and
The Sophia of Jesus Christ. Eugnostos is a didactic letter addressed
by a teacher to his disciples while the Sophia is a revelatory
discourse delivered by the risen Christ to His followers. While
Eugnostos has no explicit Christian content, its substance is
incorporated in the Sophia and Christianized by means of expansions
adapted to its new setting.
But Gnosticism and even incipient Gnosticism must be defined before
they can be used intelligently in such a discussion. A suitable
definition of Gnosticism was proposed by Scholem. It is suitable in
that he had in mind especially what he called "Jewish Gnosticism."
He defined Gnosticism as a "religious movement that proclaimed a
mystical esotericism for the elect based on illumination and the
acquisition of a higher knowledge of things heavenly and divine," the
higher knowledge being "soteric" as well as "esoteric."
Now it would be difficult to maintain the ascertain that the existence
of a decidedly pre-Christian Gnosticism. The Nag Hammadi texts reflect
an awareness of Gnostic ideas by the church fathers, but history
remains fairly silent on things like a Gnostic "church," rules of
faith, canon, and any authoritative teaching for Gnostic initiates. No
extant manuscripts support pre-Christian Gnosticism. So one can say
that Gnosticism existed no earlier than Christianity and that it most
likely grew from interaction with various sources along with
Christianity
I would suggest the readers refer to an article in the Grace
Theological Journal, Fall 87, titled: "Nag Hammadi, Gnosticism and New
Testament Interpretation" by William W. Combs. By way of introduction,
Combs writes:
Quote
The Gnostic heresy alluded to in the NT and widely repudiated by
Christian writers in the second century and after has been increasingly
studied in the last forty years. The discovery in upper Egypt of an
extensive collection of Gnostic writings on papyri transformed a poorly
known movement in early Christianity into a well documented heresy of
diverse beliefs and practices.
The relationship of Gnosticism and the NT is an issue that has not
been resolved by the new documents. Attempts to explain the theology of
the NT as dependent on Gnostic teachings rest on questionable
hypotheses. The Gnostic redeemer-myth cannot be documented before the
second century. Thus, though the Gnostic writings provide helpful
insight into the heresies growing out of Christianity, it cannot be
assumed that the NT grew out of Gnostic teachings.
End Quote
Bultmann and his followers have argued that the Christian conception of
Jesus as a descending-ascending saviour figure was derived from the
Gnostic redeemer myth. The classic description of the myth was set
forth by Bultmann in a 1925 article. He outlined twenty-eight
characteristics that he considered to have constituted the original
myth. Yamauchi has conveniently summarized those characteristics:
1. In the cosmic drama a heavenly 'Urmensch' or Primal Man of Light
falls and is torn to pieces by demonic powers. These particles are
encapsuled as the sparks of light in the 'pneumatics' of mankind.
2. The demons try to stupefy the 'pneumatics' by sleep and
forgetfulness so they will forget their divine origin.
3. The transcendent Deity sends another Being of Light, the
'Redeemer,' who descends the demonic spheres, assuming the
deceptive garments of a bodily exterior to escape the notice of the
demons.
4. The Redeemer is sent to awaken the 'pneumatics' to the truth of
their heavenly origins and gives them the necessary 'gnosis' or
'knowledge' to serve as passwords for their heavenly re-ascent.
5. The Redeemer himself re-ascends, defeating the demonic powers, and
thereby makes a way for the spirits that will follow him.
6. Cosmic redemption is achieved when the souls of men are collected
and gathered upward. In this process the Redeemer is himself redeemed.
i.e., the Primal Man who fell in the beginning is reconstituted.
[Edwin M. Yamauchi, "Pre-Christian Gnosticism in the Nag Hammadi
Texts?"]
Combs again writes:
Quote
The thirteen NH codices have significantly impacted the study of early
Christianity. Gnosticism is no longer known only from the outside, from
what opponents of the movement recorded. Now the Gnostic teachings can
be read firsthand in the forty tractates unique to the NH library. And
thus, the growth of Christianity and attendant heresies are better
documented and more clearly understood.
The NH library also provides helpful background to the NT. Heresies
are already being confronted in the NT, and though evidence is lacking
to identify those heresies clearly with the Gnosticism of the second
century, similarities in some of the false teachings are unmistakable.
However, students of the NT should be careful not to interpret NT
references to concepts such as dualism and docetism, which later became
elements in the doctrine of the second century Gnostic sects, as
evidence of Gnosticism in the first century. It is true that the roots
of Gnosticism can be found in the Judaism, Christianity, and paganism
of the first century, but classical Gnosticism has not yet been
documented before the second century.
In this article it has only been possible to touch on several of the
specific areas of NT interpretation where the NH library is now being
appealed to as a source of new light. Since the interpretation of the
library is still in its infancy, students of the NT will undoubtedly be
hearing more about NH in the future. However, an important issue for NT
studies will continue to be the question of pre-Christian Gnosticism.
Now that all the tractates have been published, we can be assured, as
Yamauchi has put it, "that there are no unexploded bombshells."
Although it is possible that a strong case may yet be made for
non-Christian Gnosticism in some of the texts, non-Christian is not
necessarily pre-Christian. Furthermore, NH has not produced any Gnostic
documents that are prior to or even contemporary with the birth of
Christianity.
[GTJ 8:2 (Fall 87) p. 212]